'Re-imagining Gandhi in 2022' Second Prize winner: ADITI SINGH

I have written a poem from Gandhi's perspective about what he would have thought of the state of India in 2022.



Oh my sweet child

This father returns to his child after 75 years,

to see how he has grown through laughs and tears.

The cities are new, modern and huge,

but why are people so miserable and in despair?

How is this fair?

Metros run at a lighting speed,
still basic human needs not fulfilled.

Buildings so tall and made of glass,
yet there's discrimination of gender, caste and class.


Oh my sweet child! You were supposed to make friends with everyone regardless of
their gods,
but you only play with people who wear a certain colour even though I took a bullet
for it in the past.


Unicorn startups come up every month,
but dare trade unions ask for the workers to be treated better than animals.

Money became power and power took over politics.

Democracy quietly watches as it lies in a grave
when this power silences the youth that want answers to their questions.

I left you alone and you were choked by bad company,
that hampered your upbringing and changed your mortality.

You are not hopeless, in the hearts of people who have faith in the future, you can
still grow.

For that, please attract good leaders who guide you on the right path.

Choose leaders that care more about my teachings than a smiling photo of me on a
paper piece.

—Aditi Singh, FYBA MC